


Worth Every Penny

by supernatural9917



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel and Hael are twins, Escort Dean Winchester, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Mick Davies and Arthur Ketch (mentioned only), mention of bad BDSM
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:21:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27215608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supernatural9917/pseuds/supernatural9917
Summary: Based on the prompt: I had to travel out of the country to attend my sister's wedding. The best man was my ex-fiancé (he dumped me), so I couldn't stand the thought of going alone. So I hired an escort to go with me and pretend to be my boyfriend. But he ended up being the most wonderful man and we fell in love. Worth every penny.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Hael/Arthur Ketch, background Balthazar/Gabriel, past Castiel/Mick Davies
Comments: 25
Kudos: 198





	Worth Every Penny

**Author's Note:**

> This prompt caught my eye last night, I started writing it, and then I decided to finish it the next day by writing live on the Profound Bond Discord server storytime channel. I realise it has great longfic potential, but I fancied something short and sweet!
> 
> Disclaimer: I found out after I started that there's a movie with this basic premise (The Wedding Date), but I haven't seen it and haven't based this fic on that storyline.

'He proposed!' Hael squealed over the Skype call, wiggling her fingers at the camera to show off the ring while her boyfriend- fiancé, now, Castiel supposed- smiled happily behind her.

'We're so happy for you, honey!' their father Chuck replied, and Castiel smiled and nodded at his twin sister. He _was_ happy for her, he really was; he just also couldn't help the nausea and bitterness that accompanied the memory of when he had been the one at the other end of that call. He hoped it worked out better for Hael than it had for him.

The twins had made their parents beyond proud when they had both been accepted as Rhodes Scholars to do their masters degrees at Oxford, and within a few weeks of their arrival in England, they had both met the men of their dreams. To make the coincidence even more interesting, the two men were stepbrothers and best friends since childhood, so the four of them quickly became inseparable. Hael decided to do a PhD to stay in Oxford, and Castiel managed to get a work visa for a highly specialised scientific role in a young biotech company. It was Hael's boyfriend, Arthur Ketch, who first suggested that the four of them get a house together, and Castiel's boyfriend, Mick Davies, who found the perfect place. In a Valentine's Day cliché, Mick proposed to Castiel in front of his favourite building: the Bodleian. They set a date for June of the following summer, and the first two months of wedding planning were the happiest Castiel could remember.

Then Mick got a new job in London.

It was an amazing opportunity to work for a top tier finance company, no way could he pass it up. He started off commuting from their house in Oxford, but it got to be too much, so he ended up renting a room in a shared flat in the city during the week and returning to the house at weekends. Then it became every other weekend, and by the time Hael and Castiel went to visit their parents for Thanksgiving, Mick hadn't been home for nearly a month. When they got back from the US, Mick dropped the bomb: he had fallen for one of his flatmates in London and ended the engagement with Castiel.

Unable to face staying in England under the circumstances, Castiel saw out his two-month notice period at his job and moved back to his parents' house in New York. Hael stayed, she and Arthur moving to a small flat while she finished her PhD. Now, eighteen months later, she had submitted her thesis and found Arthur on one knee outside the Examination Schools when she came back out.

Castiel knew three things as soon as Hael made the announcement:

  1. She would be getting married at Blenheim Palace, which she had been obsessed with since their first visit there;
  2. Mick Davies would be Arthur's best man;
  3. Because of item two, no way was Castiel going to this wedding alone.



As Hael prattled on, Castiel downloaded several dating apps on his phone and started filling out profiles. The wedding was in sixteen months, so if he got back into dating now, he figured he'd have a new boyfriend in time to have a plus one. It surely couldn't be that hard to find a decent guy, right?

**********

_Fourteen months later_

'You're a great guy, Cas, but it's just not working for me,' Inias said gently. 'I wouldn't feel comfortable taking this to the next level.'

Castiel sighed. 'You mean going to the wedding.'

'Yeah. I appreciate the invitation, I've always wanted to go to England, but I don't think it would be fair to you when I don't have romantic feelings for you. I wanted to say something before you bought me a ticket.'

'I appreciate your honesty, and I hope we can stay friends,' Castiel replied with a brittle smile, and after an assurance that they would, he and Inias parted ways. He climbed into his Lincoln, and as soon as Inias had driven away, he screamed with frustration. 'FUCK! Fucking fuckity fuck fuck!' Inias had been his last chance at getting a date within a reasonable time frame. The guy was a bit boring, but with two months to go, Castiel had been getting desperate. It turned out dating apps sucked- sure, he'd gotten some decent hook-ups, but nobody had exactly been relationship material until he'd met Inias three months ago. Things had moved slowly, but he thought they'd finally been getting somewhere and asked Inias to accompany him to Hael's wedding.

Castiel should have known this would happen when Inias asked for a week to think about it. Anyone who didn't give an immediate and enthusiastic _yes_ to a free trip to England clearly didn't want to go, and he'd probably spent the week thinking of how to let Castiel down easy. With an exasperated sigh, he got out his phone to message his friend Balthazar.

_Inias dumped me, still no wedding date_ 😠

**_I'm sorry, darling. He was clearly a dull douchebag with no taste_ **

_You don't want to pretend to be my boyfriend at this thing, by any chance?_

**_Sweet Cassie, you know I absolutely would if I were in the country for it. But we paid for this yoga retreat in Bali nearly a year ago, and Gabriel will have my ass in the not fun way if I tried to back out now_ **

_Ugh, I know. Maybe I can find a broke actor who'd be willing to do it_ 🤔

**_You'd really consider that?_ **

_The wedding is 2 months away, I'm desperate enough to consider all options right now_

**_Well… you could hire an escort_ **

Castiel gaped at his phone. _You want me to take a hooker to my sister's fancy-ass wedding in England??_

**_No, an escort. It's different, look it up._ **

_Where would I even do that?_

**_OK… promise not to judge me?_ **

_I would never make such a stupid promise_

🙄 **_Look, when I was living in New York, I worked for an escort agency. I was arm candy for wealthy men and women at events. They loved my accent, of course._** 😏 ** _That trip I took to Australia with my 'friend' who had a yacht? I was hired for that._**

_I'm somehow not remotely surprised. Did you have to… you know?_

**_I didn't have to shag anyone, no, but some of them I did anyway just for the fun of it._** 😏 ** _The yacht chap was FIT_**

🤦♂️ _JFC Balthazar_

**_Anyway, I can absolutely recommend my old agency. They're completely on the up-and-up, nothing dodgy at all, and the best at what they do._ **

_I'll think about it. Tell Gabe I said hi_

**_Will do, darling. Kisses_** 😘

Why Castiel thought Balthazar, of all people, would be the one to go to for advice, he had no idea. It just highlighted how pathetic he was being. So what if he didn't show up with a date? It had been over two years since things had gone sour with Mick, surely he was mature enough to endure a day of being in a room with his ex-fiancé without another man on his arm. He had just about convinced himself to tell Hael that he would be going without a plus one when his WhatsApp buzzed with a video call from the bride-to-be herself.

'Hello, Hael,' he said with a warm smile. This was the longest he and his twin had ever been apart, and he missed her desperately.

'Hey, Cas. How's it going?'

'What's wrong?' he asked with a frown, having immediately recognised that something was amiss from her tone of voice.

'Nothing!' She sighed. 'I mean, not what you're thinking. Everything is fine with Arthur and the wedding. But, um… well, I just thought you should know that Mick is bringing a plus one.'

'Oh?'

'Yeah. It's Renny.'

Castiel grimaced. Renny Rawlings was the London flatmate Mick had left him for. 'Of course it is.'

'And, um… they're engaged. I'm sorry Cas, I didn't want you to find out when you got here and get blindsided.'

'Thanks, Hael. It's fine, honestly. I was actually going to ask you if it would cause too much drama for me to bring my boyfriend, but if Mick is bringing Renny…'

'Oh my god, you have a boyfriend? You sly dog, you didn't say anything!'

'Well, it's pretty new, I didn't want to jinx it. Would it be OK for me to bring him?'

'Of course! You need to tell me all about him first, though!'

'Oh, uh, well, he's super hot, obviously.' He looked around the inside of his car to try to come up with something else to say. 'And he likes classic cars.'

'Ha, he'll love your Continental then!'

'Yeah. And, um…' Castiel tried to think of a person who would be the antithesis to Mick, who was a classical musician, a gourmand, and a French cinema buff. 'He likes rock music, his favourite food is burgers, he's into action movies, and he watches Dr Sexy with me.'

'Holy crap, Cas, sounds like you found your dream man!'

Castiel tilted his head and squinted at his sister in confusion. 'What do you mean?'

'I mean, I'm not saying you didn't enjoy the stuff you and Mick did together,' she said hastily. 'But it felt more like you going along with the stuff he liked because it was… I don't know, fancier, or seemed more grown up. You ate at nice restaurants with him, but the first time he went out of town after you guys started dating, the first thing you did was get the greasiest burger you could find from a chip shop. And you didn't think I'd forgotten how you and Meg road-tripped to Lollapalooza the summer after junior year of high school, right?'

'OK, I see what you mean,' Castiel conceded. 'Anyway, I have to go right now, but thanks for letting me know about Mick. Love you!' Castiel barely gave Hael time to say she loved him back before hanging up. That was the only way he'd be able to get away with not telling her his mysterious boyfriend's name, and since he didn't know it himself yet, he'd have to stall for time. First things first, though; he reopened his message thread with Balthazar.

_Send me the info ASAP please_

**********

Castiel hadn't expected to be interviewed by the manager of the escort agency before being allowed to request a match, but it made him feel much better about the legitimacy of the place- even if this Naomi person was slightly terrifying.

'Well then,' Naomi said with a smile as she finished reading her screen, 'your background check has come up without any problems, and your resumé checks out. You are officially cleared to join our client list.'

'Oh, that's excellent, thank you.'

'Can you tell me what you're looking for from our agency?'

'I need a plus one for my sister's wedding in England. I, um, I need someone who can pretend to be my boyfriend. Not for anything sexual!' he quickly added when Naomi's eyebrow rose. 'Just to act like we're a couple in public.'

'And do you have any particular kind of person in mind?'

'Um… I don't suppose you have a really hot guy who's into classic cars, rock music, burgers, and Dr Sexy MD?' he joked.

Naomi's eyes narrowed. 'Mr Novak, if you are trying to pose as a client in order to harass one of my employees, I will not hesitate to call the police right now.'

'What? No! I don't know any of your employees, just your former one, my friend Balthazar.'

'And yet you were able to describe one of my employees to a T. You expect me to believe that it's just a coincidence?'

Castiel's jaw dropped. 'It sounds crazy, but it honestly is. I described my imaginary boyfriend in those terms to my sister, and she pointed out that he sounded like my dream man. I swear to you, if I'd actually ever met such a man in real life, I wouldn't need to be here right now.'

'Hmm. Give me a moment.' Naomi walked briskly out of her office, leaving Castiel alone for several minutes. When she returned, she was much more relaxed. 'OK, I checked with my employee and he confirmed that he doesn't have any prior history with you. However, if you do wish to proceed with him, your first meeting will take place here under my supervision for safety reasons. Do you accept these terms?'

'Uh, yes, of course, that's fine. Can I see his profile before I decide?' Naomi handed over a folder labelled 'Dean' and he opened it to find several photos of the most gorgeous man he had ever seen. He couldn’t control the 'Wow!' that escaped his lips, and Naomi chuckled.

'You can see why I want to be cautious. Dean can inspire a frightening level of… let's politely call it devotion.'

'I understand completely. The caution I mean.' He read through the profile, and sure enough, Dean described himself as a guy who loved classic cars, classic rock, and classic American food, with a list of likes that included a number of action movies and, indeed, Dr Sexy MD. He wasn't just limited to the All-American boy next door, however; there were photos of him looking dashing and debonair in a tuxedo, and he claimed a golf handicap of ten, so he was clearly used to moving in higher social circles as well. He looked perfect. 'I would love to meet Dean, if he's willing.'

Naomi disappeared again and returned a couple of minutes later with the man himself. Castiel could feel himself blushing, because somehow Dean was even more stunning in person than in his photographs.

'Nice to meet you, Mr Novak,' Dean said with a friendly smile and handshake.

'Castiel. Cas. Please call me Cas,' he stuttered, feeling like an idiot.

'Cas it is, then. I'm Dean.' He looked down at their hands, which Castiel was still shaking. 'I plan on keeping that hand.'

'Shit, sorry.' Castiel dropped Dean's hand and gestured for him to take a seat. 'I'm just a bit nervous. I've never done anything like this before.'

'I kinda got that impression, yeah,' Dean grinned, but it didn't feel mocking. 'What brings you here, then?'

'My friend Balthazar suggested it.'

That made Dean laugh out loud. 'Bal, that old bastard? How's he doing, anyway? Back in London?'

'Yes, he is. He's doing well. He eloped with my cousin Gabriel and they live in Soho now.'

'Wait… don't tell me you're Cassie?'

'Balthazar talked about me?'

'I mean, not a lot, but he did mention you a few times.' Dean seemed a bit embarrassed now, which made Castiel feel slightly better. 'But I thought you were married or something.'

'Ugh. It's a long story, but basically I was engaged, my fiancé dumped me for another man, my twin sister is marrying my ex's step-brother, my ex is the best man, and he's bringing along the man he left me for as his plus one. And they're now engaged.'

Dean nodded in understanding. 'OK. So you need a plus one to be your awesome boyfriend and show your stupid ex that he's totally the one who missed out?'

'Or to get me drunk enough not to care about my ex and his new fiancé.'

'I think we can manage the first one,' Dean assured him with a wink. 'But, uh… feel free to tell me to mind my own business, but how come you don't have a real boyfriend? I mean… you're fuckin' hot, dude.'

'Dean,' Naomi snapped, but Castiel wasn't bothered by the question. The answer struck him suddenly, and he wished he'd realised it sooner.

'I just haven't found anyone I clicked with. I think I was so focused on trying to find someone who would be a perfect wedding date to show up my ex that I didn't actually try to find someone I really wanted to spend time with.'

Dean patted his shoulder. 'Well, if you like what you see in there,' he nodded at the folder, 'and right here, I'm happy to show up your douchebag ex no problem.'

'Thank you, Dean, I think you're perfect.'

They talked through the details, and aside from Dean blanching a little at the mention of flying to England, they were able to agree on the particulars and set a price. Castiel would pay all of Dean's expenses on the trip (though Dean would appear to be paying for some things himself), including the flights and accommodation, as well as a daily rate during the trip and an hourly rate for their preparatory meetings before the trip. The total was eyewatering, but Castiel could afford it, and he couldn't put a price on retaining his pride in front of Mick and Renny.

Their first 'date' came a few days later at a diner near Castiel's work. Castiel gave Dean his travel information, and then they spent two hours learning about each other to make it more believable that they were a couple. At the end of the night, Dean gave him a hug, explaining that they also needed to be comfortable with a bit of physical affection to pull off the boyfriend act. Castiel explained the fluttering of his heart as nerves, and not because the whole thing felt like an actual date with a super hot guy that he actually kinda liked.

They met several times before the trip, and also exchanged numbers so they could text and talk in between (free of charge for Castiel). It started off as little questions they came up with that they thought a boyfriend should know, like favourite colours or childhood crushes, but they increased in frequency and range of topics as the days passed.

One night, Dean was at a charity gala as arm candy for a wealthy older woman named Gertrude, and he sent Castiel a series of amusing texts describing Gert's increasingly brazen flirtations that culminated in what Dean described as 'a little bump and grind' on the dance floor while the more respectable guests were trying to foxtrot. His descriptions had Castiel bent double with laughter, but when he'd sent a picture of himself in his tuxedo, Castiel's breath was taken for an entirely different reason. Despite the exaggerated pout ('This is my Blue Steel, Cas'), Dean looked so handsome it made him want to cry.

Rather than think too hard about how Dean was not only incredibly good-looking _and_ his dream man in every other way, Castiel cracked open a bottle of rum and sent Dean a selfie of his own, mimicking the Blue Steel expression but decidedly more casual. His hair was a mess, and he hadn't even bothered putting a shirt on after his shower. It didn't even occur to him how that might look to Dean until he got a reply.

**_Uh… been having a fun night Cas?_ **

_Yes, your stories have been very entertaining, and now I'm enjoying some nice rum_

**_No… I mean have you had some interesting company?_ **

_I don't understand, I've been home alone all evening_

**_So that's not your freshly fucked look?_** 🤨

_LOL! No! It's my got out of the shower and couldn't be bothered to put on a shirt or brush my hair look_

**_Coulda fooled me_** 😉

_Who was I supposed to have been fucking anyway?_ 😂

**_I don't know maybe you're on Tinder or something_ **

All Castiel could think was that Dean was the only person he really wanted to fuck right now, and with the rum lowering his inhibitions, he sent a borderline inappropriate reply.

_The only person I'm interested in fucking was busy tonight_

Dean's reply took a while to arrive, the dots appearing and disappearing like he kept changing the message.

**_Anybody I know?_ **

_Of course. Do you think Naomi will ever love me back, or am I destined to pine forever?_

**_Asshole_** 🤣 **_Sorry buddy, that's a lost cause_**

_Oh well. Know anybody else who might be interested?_

To Castiel's surprise, a video chat request popped up from Dean; after a fortifying glug of rum, he accepted it.

'Hey, Cas.' He was still in his tuxedo, but the bowtie was undone, and it looked like he was lounging against some pillows on a bed.

'Hello, Dean. Is the gala finished?'

'Yeah, I'm back home. Gert fell asleep in the limo and her chauffeur dropped me off.'

'She'll be disappointed,' Castiel teased, but Dean frowned.

'Yeah, look, um, I just wanted to clear something up. I don't… my contract doesn't include… I'm not a _full-service_ escort, if you know what I mean.'

'Yes, I know, I read the contract,' Castiel confirmed, feeling confused. 'I didn't think you were going to fulfil Gert's fantasies or anything, I was just joking around.'

'Right, yeah, I meant, like, what we were saying before.' Dean rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, his cheeks flushing pink.

'Oh. Oh my god, Dean, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I wasn't trying to imply that I wanted to pay you for sexual services.'

'OK, good. Cause I don't, um, I don't do that.' Dean seemed to be getting more flushed, and his breathing seemed to get shallower.

'Dean, are you OK? You seem upset.'

Dean shook his head and took a couple of deep breaths. 'Sorry, it's just a touchy subject. I, um… the truth is, I used to do that sometimes. When I started out, I needed the money, so if a client offered me little something extra on the side for a little something extra on the side, I would do it.'

'Dean, you don't owe me an explanation,' Castiel interrupted. 'You're a good person, and I like and respect you no matter what.'

Dean let out a relieved breath. 'Thanks, Cas. But I want to tell you. I want you to understand something.'

'You can tell me anything, Dean. I just didn't want you to feel obligated.'

'OK, so I sometimes did stuff, nothing too big, a BJ here, a divorced cougar wanting a bit of sugar, you know. I'm a young guy, I have needs, so I thought what's the big deal? Then I got this one client, Alistair. He lied to Naomi about what he wanted me for- said it was a charity event, but it was an underground BDSM club. He offered me double my usual rate, with the extra paid in cash, if I did a scene with him in front of the whole club. I said yeah, but it was pretty fucked up shit. I safe-worded three times, but he didn't stop, and the club bouncers had to drag him away from me.'

'Oh Dean, I'm so sorry.'

'The club was great, they paid for my medical bills and the restraining order against Alistair. Naomi brought in client vetting, and I stopped taking money for sex.' He took a deep breath in and blew it out. 'So… yeah.'

'Dean, I can only apologise again. I thought we were just bantering. I promise I wasn't trying to make you go against your contract, and I'll never mention it again. If you want to stop this whole thing, I'll completely understand.'

'No, Cas,' Dean replied with a wry chuckle, 'that's not what I'm saying. I just wanted to make it really, really clear that I don't have sex with clients as a term of employment, and that I won't accept money for sex.'

'You've made that very clear, Dean, and I really am sorry for-'

'Cas,' Dean interrupted, 'I'm trying to say that if you want to have sex with me as part of the job you're paying me for, that's not cool, but if you want to have sex with me for free because we're hot for each other, that would be a totally different thing.'

Castiel was completely speechless. He felt his mouth flop open and closed a few times while he tried to form words, but the surprise was too great. Dean was actually interested in sleeping with him?

'Oh no, did I break you?' Dean teased, but he looked uncomfortable now, and Castiel did _not_ want that.

'Just had to reboot my brain. I wasn't expecting the hottest guy in the world to suggest that he would have sex with me.'

'Psh,' Dean blushed, 'flatterer.'

'I'm serious. But more importantly, you're a wonderful person. You make me laugh, you like the same things I do… I mean, I know that I've basically been paying you to be my friend, but it's _felt_ very real. So either we really click, or you're an exceptional actor and I should be paying you more.'

Dean laughed like that was the most hilarious thing he'd ever heard. Castiel didn't think he was that funny, but Dean often laughed at his jokes in that full body way, and it never seemed forced. 'Dude, I think you're awesome. We'd both get in trouble if we broke the contract now, because Naomi is a hard-ass, but if we'd met a normal way, I'd still want to hang out with you and pretend to be your boyfriend to shove it in your douche ex-boyfriend's face.'

'If we'd met a normal way, I'd much prefer you to be my real boyfriend.'

'Yeah?' Dean asked bashfully.

'Definitely.'

'Well, uh, that's not off the table.'

'Really?'

'Yeah. How about we go on a real date, my treat, and see how we feel?'

'I think that sounds wonderful,' Castiel agreed with a smile.

'Tomorrow, dinner?'

'Sounds perfect.'

'Great, I'll pick you up at seven.'

**********

They really had intended to go on a proper date, but when Castiel, running late due to his inability to pick an outfit, answered the door to Dean's knock in just his towel, all bets were off. Within a couple of minutes they were playing rock paper scissors for who got to bottom first (Castiel won), and a few minutes after that, Dean was blissfully sinking into Castiel's welcoming heat with a drawn-out moan. There was too much built-up tension to allow for anything but a hard, frantic fuck, and the whole sweaty affair, from doorway kiss to sticky post-coital breathlessness had taken less than twenty minutes.

'Fuck, Cas,' Dean panted. 'I swear I'm not usually that quick, but you felt so fuckin' good.'

'I'm not complaining. We'll take our time the next round,' Cas reassured him. 'Man, I needed that.'

'Me too.' They exchanged a warm smile, and Castiel couldn't help but feel that this was the beginning of something special.

**********

_One month later_

'Quit fiddling with it, Cas, you look perfect,' Dean scolded, batting Castiel's hands away from the cravat of his morning suit.

'Sorry, I'm just nervous. I want this to go well for Hael.'

'It's gonna be awesome. The venue looks amazing, your sister looks beautiful, and your ex looked like he was gonna cry when he caught us making out in the library.'

Castiel smiled smugly. 'He did, didn't he?'

'I bet if you really wanted to, you could totally get him back tonight,' Dean teased, but Castiel could see the undercurrent of insecurity in his eyes.

'Oh yes, I'll get right on that. I absolutely want to leave my tall, gorgeous, sexy, intelligent, kind boyfriend for a short wanker who dumped me in favour of a rat-faced hedge fund manager. Great idea.'

'Well, when you put it like that…' Dean grinned and pulled Castiel into another kiss that wasn't fit for polite company. 'How about we go sully the orangery next?' He didn't give Castiel a chance to answer before taking his hand and dragging him towards said orangery. Castiel didn't mind trailing behind him, as it allowed him to admire Dean's exceptional ass in formalwear.

_Worth every penny_.


End file.
